My friend is a chronic smoker. She wasn’t this bad a few years ago, in fact she barely smoked unless we had had a few drinks on a girl’s night out; however, in recent years the cigarettes have become a greater part of her life. I’m not too sure why, it could be her job or it could be the fact that she is going through a rather messy divorce – unnecessary stress is supposed to do weird things to people. Whatever the reason, she is damaging her health and her little boy’s health as well.

A few months back I sat her down and spoke to her about this. She wouldn’t listen, but then I showed her some cases of long-term damage on the internet and she took my words seriously. We began looking into de-tox’ (‘cos it is an addiction) aids and landed up on e-cigarettes.

The e-cigarette is a battery-operated device that looks and feels like a cigarette, but doesn’t release nicotine – well some don’t. Instead they use this flavored vapor that substitutes the addictive substance my friend was smoking.

Of course, there are risks in addition to the benefits; but, what I do know is that my friend isn’t blowing smoke into her boy’s face and she isn’t sucking nicotine into her lungs anymore.

I Have Just Started To Use Electronic Cigarettes

It seems so long ago that I started smoking that it is lost in the mists of time. I think I was 14 or 15 at the time, and that would have been in the mid-60’s. Both of my parents smoked so it seemed only natural in those days that I would follow. As the decades have gone past we have been made more aware about the dangers of smoking, and these days it is becoming the norm that smoking is unacceptable.

Although I have wanted to give up for years, it was only last month that I actually had the willpower to try it. The reason being was twofold; a friend of mine passed away from lung cancer, and another friend had successfully given up by using electronic cigarettes.

I have now tried a number of e-cigs and e liquid flavors to see which one I preferred, and have settled on a rather expensive one. However it is much cheaper than real cigarettes, and I am already putting those savings away to pay for a holiday.

It will be a long road from here, but I know that each week that passes it will not only get easier, but it will improve my overall health.